POLICY & PRACTICE

While deigning and making our new microfluidic chips, the team realized that it would be a great addition to the registry to have a catalog of Microfluidic Parts similar to the existing DNA Parts Catalog. The chips also have basic, intermediate and composite structures that can be combined and reused in a way resembling building blocks.

Creating a database of these parts would contribute to the already enormous library of DNA parts, and would moreover give a push forward to all the teams contemplating the integration of microfluidics in their projects.

As such a structure isn’t available, we created one similar in structure to the existing one, so as to easily integrate it in the system, maintaining a certain uniformity, which would make it natural after having had contact with the existing catalogs (biobricks & plasmid backbones). We kept in mind that the registry will develop itself, just as chip designs will integrate new parts, so we designed a naming system that can grow both horizontally (adding types of parts) and vertically (adding sub-parts).

There are two main points in this addition to the registry: management of intellectual property rights and integration of the microfluidic environment, enlarging project possibilities.

Management of intellectual property rights

It is usual to use existing chips to begin the experiences, and then develop the new ones when the needs of the project can be concretized. We did this; we started with the existing MITOMI chip, and then proceeded to create our own designs.

As the MITOMI chip was used, it would be useful to add it to the registry, too. We have designed the submission page so that the source of the chip design figures in the necessary information for submission. The idea is that, just as DNA parts need their source information to be submitted, the chips need theirs too. However, as ownership has to be clearly stated, we have added the owner clause to the information page.

Enlarging project possibilities

iGEM projects are evolving into much more complex and ‘important innovative/crazy/risky’ questions, more organisms types are used, different technologies (such as microfluidic chips, computers, …).

It is important to say, related to our safety work (link here), that the use of microfluidic chips decreases the risk with genetically modified cells, as these are contained in a stable & in a way, isolated environment. This is useful for the future development of iGEM, because as projects become more complex and innovative/crazy/risky and start contemplating more complex questions, more organisms are used, and the usage of microfluidic chips will certainly develop the use of level 2 organisms, which are interesting in a different way that level 1 orgs. This will bring a surge of new ideas, which were difficult to contemplate because of the safety principles, because a wide range of currently unsafe experiences/organisms will become [safe enough to use]